OANA executive committee meets in Teheran.

TEHERAN, November 16 (Itar-Tass) - A conference of the executive
committee of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), which
rallies some 40 news agencies of Asian and Pacific countries, has been
held in Teheran. The main problem discussed at the conference, which came
to a close here and in which a delegation of Itar-Tass also took part, was
the expansion of cooperation between the news agencies, as well as the
exchange of experience and information.
Participants in the conference were Russia (Itar-Tass), Japan (Kyodo),
China (Xinhua), Iran (IRNA and Mehr), India (PTI), Indonesia (Antara),
Malaysia (BERNAMA), Turkey (the Anatolia News Agency), Vietnam (VIA),
Azerbaijan (AzerTaj), Kuwait (KUNA) and some other countries. A number of
agreements on bilateral cooperation were signed within the framework of
the conference.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received participants in the
conference. He pointed to the importance of the circulation of truthful
and reliable information. In his opinion, it is especially important for
opposing "the western propaganda" in covering the developments in the
regions like the Middle East, and "the biased interpretation by the West"
of key international problems.
The Mehr News Agency of Iran - the organizer of the conference, which
joined OANA only two years ago, offered an interesting programme for its
participants. Aside from working aspects, it included an excursion around
the Iranian capital and a visit to the Milad Tower, the highest in the
Middle and Near East, which was built recently.
The conference considered a possibility of admitting new members to
OANA - the Trend Agency of Azerbaijan, ILNA of Iran and the recently
created privately owned AVA (Afghanistan Voice Agency). The OANA executive
committee approved their applications.
The OANA pool of news agencies was created 48 year ago on the
initiative of UNESCO. The OANA zone of influence accounts for some 60 per
cent of the world population. The 14th OANA General Assembly will be held
in Istanbul on November 24-28, 2010. The next OANA General Assembly will
be held in Moscow on the initiative of Itar-Tass three years later.
-0-rom/gor